Anode for electrolysis.



NOAK vroron HYBINETTE,

0F GHRISTIANIA, NORWAY, ASSIGNOR '10 PACIFIC SECURITIES COMPANY LIMITED,OF TORONTO, CANADA.

- ANODE FOR ELECTROLYSIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

No Drawing. Originalapplication filed June-5, 1912, Serial No. 701.780.Divided and this application filed June 26, 1913. 'Serial No. 775,956. g

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NoAK VICTOR HY- nmn'r'rn, a subject of the King ofNorway, residing at Christiania, Norway,'have invented Improvements inAnodes for Eleotrolysis, of which the following is a specification, andis a division of my application, Serial No. 701,780, filed June 5, 1912.

This invention has for its object a process of separating copper fromnickel.

In a patent granted 'to me in U. S. A. November 28th 1905 under No.805,969, I describe a process of refining-copper-nickel matte. The matteis roasted and. eventually leached to remove a possible excess of copperand the roasted material, whether leached or not, is smelted and castinto anodes or metallic slabs. The anodes are electrolyzedin acid nickelsulfate solution,

whereupon copper is cemented out from the electrolyzed solution uponmetallic slabs. My patent above referred to, prescribes that atleastpart of the material should be free from carbon,.silicon andsulfur.

I have found that it is entirely too expensive to reduce, smelt and casta slab practically free from sulfur, carbon and silicon, as proposed inmy patent above referred to. I have found that smelting of such an anodeis only possible in a reverberatory furnace and in such a furnace there-' duction of oxid to metal'is hard to accomplish. On the other handsuch reduction is made automatically by blast furnace smelting. Thealloy of 3 parts nickel and 1 part copper is howevertoo hard to besmelted in a blast furnace and cast into anode slabs directly from thefurnace. To accomplish this, I introduce about4-8 sulfur in the anodewhich is added to the roasted and leached matte in the shape ofunroasted 1 matte. In case the proportion of copper is low in the rawmaterial no'leaching is done and an incomplete roasting leaves thenecessary sulfur in the material. v

The cementation of copper from the electrolyte is under ordinaryconditions impracticable with a metalslab containing 48 sulfur. alloyfree from sulfur carbon and silicon (as in my old patent above referredto).,

I preferred tocarry out the last part of thecast surface Even whenusinga. copper nlckel' cementation on pure nickel. I have now found thatthe cementatlon is possible and can be carried to completion in oneoperation by the use of slabs containing'48% previously used as anodesin a nickel plating tank and thereby the surface prepared in such a waythat the cementation will take place. IVhy the cementation will takeplace under these conditions and not on a fresh depends probablythereupon that when ,a fresh surface is subjected to cementation thereis formed a coherent sheet of metallic copper which partly at leastprevents further cementation, Whereas a surface previously used as anodein an electrolytic bath'has a porous surface covered by slimes of metaland sulfids whereby the copper is cemented on top. of these slimes andcomes down as a spongy mass through which the The spongy mass onsolution can percolate.

contact with the'surface stands in metallic the solid partof the slaband may also be said to help the cementation simply by the largersurface which it presents.

hat I claim is 1'. An anode. for the cementation of copper, whichconsists mainly of nickel, copper and sulfur, the sulfur content beinghigh, said anode having an electrolytically treated surface.

2. An anode for the cementation of copper, which consists mainly ofnickel, cop er and between four and eight per cent. sul ur', and has anelectrolytically treated surface.

3. The method of making anodes for copper cementation, ing a charge ofcopper nickel matte containing sulfur to the reducing action of a blastin a suitable furnace, and proportioning Saidcharge to obtain a productcontaining from four to eight per cent. of sulfur,

casting the. product into slabs and surface treating the slabs byelectrolysi s Signed at London, England, this Qthday which comprisessubject-

